It has been a down year for the Sox, who have struggled both offensively and defensively, and find themselves at the bottom of the division. This has pressured the front office to start improving the roster for the future, but it still begs the question: why trade away your best pitcher in Lackey?

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The Lester trade, however came down to this: throughout the season, the Red Sox have been trying to start talks with Lester’s representatives about restructuring his contract that ends at the end of the season. It has been speculated that Lester wanted a 6 year deal worth around $144 million, which is something the Red Sox are not willing to match. Because of this, the Red Sox did not want to lose their ace and get nothing in return if they could not sign him this winter, which is the reason trade talks began in the first place.

Lester’s trade to the Oakland A’s gives the Red Sox Yoenis Cespedes, a two time home run derby power hitter who will greatly improve the middle of the lineup for the sox. Cespedes who has 17 home runs and 65 runners batted in this season has the potential to be the power hitter the Red Sox have been missing.

vis sfexaminer.com

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